Fishing spear



March l5, 1932. Q D NUTTER 1,849,433

FISHING SPEAR Filed May 29, 1929 Hln Ugg? 6:

Patented Mar. 15, 1932,

UNITED STATES PATENror-FICE mm D. NUTTER, oF PhnxEnsBUnG, WEST 4vImiINIn,"AssIGfNon To ACME'F'ISHINGQ IrooL COMPANY, oF 1f.AluiiznsiaruRe,`.WEST VIRGINIA, A CORPORATION oF WESTA VIRGINIA h I VFISHING sPEAn,

Application meauayas, 1929.4 serial Nassasos.

This invention relates to fishing tools of the type known as casing spears used for the removal of pipe sections or casings from a well. Y `1 f In devices ofl this character it is= essential that they be capable of adjustment, that is, that the serrated slips thereof havea range of expansion such that casings of different inside diameters may be gripped thereby. It is one of the objects of this invention, therefore, that a simple means of adjustment be pro-h vided for determiningthe amount of expan` sion which the slips may have. I e

It will be apparent that a considerable amount of .wear and tear takes place in the use of a tool of this description and that the tool as a whole must be of avery rugged construction. It is, therefore, necessary that every weak portion be eliminated anda max; imum strength secured.

One of the diiiiculties experienced in tripping or releasing spears is vdue to the fact that the seats upon which the slips slide' or move are of substantially the same extent as the slips themselves,so that when a slip in ex-V panding moveslongitudinally ofk its seat, a

portion of the slip projects beyond the seat and is not supported thereby. Under these circumstances the resistance of the casing to this unsupported portion of the slip frequently causes a distortion or even breakage of the lowerportion thereof. It is then notvpossible to trip the spear in the event that thecasing v cannot be started, and the spear is consequent- Y ly jammed within the pipe. It is, therefore, one of the objects of this invention to overcome this effect.

Another important object is y"to overcome the defect of the Boardman spear wherein the body itself is weakened at the extreme top portion of the slip seat due to theifact that an unnecessary amount of metal has been re-y moved from the body or stem. In the device of this present invention maximum thickness so that there Ais no body having slip seats thereon of a-greater longitudinal extent than the slips which slidingly interlock therewith so that throughout the effective longitudinal movement of each slip, it is entirely underlaid vbyaseat surface. Both slips and seats are provided withabutting curved portions which engage each other when4 the slips are in the inoperative position, thus strengthening the body to a vmaterial extent. j

Below theslips is avpush up ring having fingers projecting upwardly and engaging the bottom of the slips to move them into inoperative position under impulse of a coiledsprino on which the pushup ring rests. This pus up ring may carry means whereby it may be i latched to the spearbody. j

y It 1s sometimes desirable to place a plain ring niembery between the'ingered ring and the coiled spring, this plain ring member being rotatably and slidably mounted on the body and carrying t-he latchingmeans. In both cases, the spring encircles the body and is held between a spear head or cone nut and thering., ,f

. TheY invention further consists in the novel arrangement, combination. and' construction of parts morefully hereinafter described and shownvin the drawings. In lthe drawings: y u.

Fig. l is an elevation of a spear embodying this inventiom with the slips in the inoperative position. I

F ig. 2 'is a sectional view along the line Q-QofFigl. -f'

Fig. 3 is a sectional view'along the line 3-3 ofFigl. 1 ,Y o

'I Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional viewv of a s 1p. Y Y

' Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a slip.

Fig. -6'is an elevation partly in section of a device with the slips in expanded position.

Figui' is aview ofa modified form of the invention.I

Referring now with particularity to the embodiment il-lustratedthere is shown at 1 an elongated body having at the top thereof a tapered threaded portion 2 for attachment to the usual tool string.

A Vportionof the body is fashioned to form a plurality of slip seats, four being shown, each of which consists of a planelportion 3 interrupted by al dovetailed groove '4, the` upper' portion of* the surface 3 merging with a curved portion 5 which is a part of a substantially cylindrical surface.

The curved portion makes unnecessary the carrying back of the plane surface which would weaken the body at the juncture'with the enlargement 6. Y As a. result, this curved portion adds material strength to the body andv provides aV tool having Y maximum ruggedness. y l

Slips 7 are provided, corresponding in number to the seats, each slip being adapted to engage and longitudinallymove upon a seat. ment yof hardened metal having a serrated outer'face S for engagementwith tho inside of a casing, Vand being backed with a proj ection'Q of a configuration corresponding to that of the dovetailed groove 4C, and for engagement therewith. As shown7 each slip is, therefore, keyed-to its seat in a manner to pre-VV vent outward or radial movement except as it is a component of the desired longitudinal movement. An important requisite resides in the fact that each seat 3 is of greater lengitudinal ext/ent than its slip, so that within the operative'rangeof slip movement, the entire slip is at all times entirely underlaid and sup-V ported by its seat surface and breakage or distortion of the lower end of the slip cannot j occur.V

In Fig. 1, which is the inoperative position of the assembly, it will be noted that the slips 7 are in their extreme upward location, and the curved tops thereof iit and abut snugly the similarly shaped portions 5 of the body.

It is also to be noted that the slips are tapered'from top Vto bottom so that as they moveyupon their seats in a-downward direction they expand to engage thevcasing, the

outer portion of the slips maintaining a substantially parallel relationl to the wall of the casing within which the deviceoperates. The serrated teeth 8 ony outer portion of'each slip vare adapted to bite into the inner vsurface of the casing when the slips are in their operative or expanded position.

kBelow that portion ofv he body forming the slip seats is a stem 10 threaded at the lowver end thereof to receivea cone nut 11 made secure to the stem by means of a pin 12 pass- Y A push up ring 15, recessed as Yat16 to receive the top of the spring 14,7encircling the The slips consistpreferably of a segr-i stem 10 and resting upon the top of the spring 9 is provided with a series of upwardly eX- tending fingers 17, each of which projects within a channel 18 which intersects the plane surface of theV slip seats 3. Each linger 17 engages the bottom orv lower portion of a v slip 7. Y

i The spring 14 is of such a size and extent that in its expanded position it will rforce the ,r ring 15 upwardly and the lingers thereof will push each slip in the same direction until the curved top portion thereof is abutting the similarly shaped portion5 of its seat. This is the .inoperativeposition of the slips and is shown in Fig. 1, inasmuch as under ,these circumstances theirouter surfaces 8`are sub stantially flush with the outer surfaces of the tool body.

In order to permit the slips to move downwardly and thus expand against the inside of the casing Vwithout opposing the action Vof the spring, a slip'setting latch or trip may be provided in the push up' ring. This latch may conveniently take the form of a stud19, located withina recess in the push up ring 15. The stud-is provided with a frustro conical end portion 2O adapted to enter a recess 21 in the stem 10, the wallof the recess beingV adapted to overhang and engage the portion 20 of the stud. A coil spring 22 surrounds the stud 19 and bears against the head 23 thereof, thus tending to retract the stud from the stem 10. A cap 24 threaded to the recess in the push upring 15, retains the parts therein. An aperture 25 inthe cap, permits the.

stud to be latched to the body by inserting a tool ornailtherethrough.v

yAs shown, a plurality of such stem recesses are provided, the overhanging` walls thereof beingV at different vertical heights. This permits'of various adjustments. Y Taking the'spear from the positionfshown in'Fig. 1,'V the push up ring 15 may be drawn down against the action 'of thel spring 111 by any suitable means, until 'the' stud v19 is'opposite its recess S21.V By then insertinga .nail through'the aperture inthe cap 24, the` end 20 may be forced'under theioverhanging wall of Vthe recess, and the' upward thrustof .the spring 14 will retain it there. Ink thisposie tion, the'iingers 17 arevwithdrawn fromfthe bottom of theslips and the latter permitted to drop down in'their seats, with a consequent expanding action. This allows the spear to be lowered' within a casing,'but when an up movement is imparted to the string, the vserrated face of the slips bites into the casing andfurther upward movement yof the spear causes a-rreXpansiony ofthe slips toy av desired extent.V y

Obviously the slipsmay move downwardly to any extent, being limited only to either the diameter of the well casing, or the distance vring 15 f between the bottom of the push up andthe top of the cone-nut 11'.'

ict

' spear body so as to permit the latch spring Gib 22 to withdraw the latch stud 19 from the stem recess. When this action has taken place, the Spring 14 will force the push up ring 15 upwardly, the fingers 17 thereof pushing the slips 7 into the inoperative position of Fig. 1. Thespear may then be freely withdrawn from the casing.

Obviously'any desired form of latch means may be usedother than that shown, and a plurality of setting positions may be provided, such as is possible with the construction shown in the Boardman patent supra.

It may be desirable to provide an additional element to carry the latching means, such for instance as shown in Fig. 7. This consists of a plain ring member 26, without iingers, in which a latch assembly is located, the ring being positioned between the spring 14 and the push up ring 15 and encircling the stem 10.

In operation the latch having been set in the proper position, the tool is lowered into the well until the casing to be pulled or adjusted is reached. The slips will drop down into their expanded position due to the fact that the spring 14 is slightly compressed. However, when the casing is reached, the slips will be forced upwardly thereby and will finally occupy aretracted position within the casing. Upward movement of the tool will cause a downward movement of the slips and their serrated faces will bite into the inner walls of the casing and securely grip the same. This downward movement of the slips also causes downward movement of the ring carrying the latch permitting the latch lmechanism to release. In this position the casing can be pulled out of the well along with the tool string. When it is desired to release the spear from the casing it is onl necessary to jar the spear in a downward d1- rection which movement will free the serrated teeth of the slips from the inside wall of the casing, and the spring 14 will, through the train of cooperating parts, force the slips upwardly to occupy an inoperative position. The tool may then be withdrawn from the casing.

An important feature of the invention consists in making the ring fingers of greater vertical extent than the permitted vertical movement of the ring. This is for the sole purpose of preventing, when the lingered ring is drawn to its lowermost position, the accidental withdrawal of the fingers from their grooves. Due either to the fact that the bottom of the fingered ring or the second ring contacts with the upper portion of the cone nut or the compression spring when fully contracted will not permit these sur-V faces to contact, downward movement of the lingers and the element cariyin them is limited. It is, therefore, desira le that this downward movementbe arrested at a oint where the fingers will not come comp etely out oftheir respective grooves. This point may be readily determined Vandcompensated for by screwing the cone nut 11 further up on the threads of the body so as to produce the desired effect. f At any rate, it is desirable that the lingers shall be of a greater vertical extent than their permitted vertical move ment, and this is an important feature of the invention.

I claim: Y 1. A fishing spear comprising a body having slip seats thereon, slips on the seats, a l

push-up ring below the slips having'v fingers engaging the bottom of the slips, a nut on the bottom of the body, a tension spring between the nut and the push-up ring, the ring fingers being of greater vertical extent than the permitted vertical movement of the ring..

2. A fishing spear comprising a body, a slip seat thereon, a slip on said seat, a nut on the bottom of the body, a spring resting on the nut, a ring engaged by the top of the spring and a fingerengaging the bottom of the slip and urging the slip upwardly on its seat under action of the sprlng. the linger being of a greater vertical extent than the permitted vertical movement of the ring.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 21st day of May, 1929.

ORDA D. NUTTER. 

